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Five days designed to celebrate four core values, three tiers of student leaders, two words, and one organization: Key Club. Show your Key Club pride the week of November 6th-10th for Key Club Week. Once a year, all 275,000 Key Clubbers have the opportunity to celebrate one organization that brought us all together. Each day has a theme designed to boost membership, serve our community, work with our preferred charities, engage with our Kiwanis family, and thank those who dedicate their time and energy to Key Club. Show the enthusiasm, passion, dedication, and power that one student organization can have. This week is a wonderful time to encourage service for club members, friends, and your school

Start Monday, November 6th, by advertising your love and enthusiasm for Key Club. Spread the word about Key Club by wearing Key Club gear all day. Encourage other club members to participate and be prepared to answer questions that may be asked about the club you are representing. If your club traditionally makes club t-shirts, try and get them ordered and delivered by November 6th so all of your members have the ability to spread the word. Also, make sure to post your Key Club spirit on your Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat. You can also ask your school to announce Key Club week in morning announcements and publicize the occasion on your school’s website. Monday is a great way to shed a light on our organization and help others learn about the impact they can have on their home, school, and community.

On Tuesday, November 7th, your club has an opportunity to say “thank you” to the many people who have made Key Club possible at your school. Firstly, thank your members. Celebrate their membership by hosting a pizza party at lunch, giving them a shout out on morning announcements, or just giving them a high five when you pass them in the hallway. It is important to never forget that every club starts with dedicated members. Secondly, make sure that you thank club officers for the hard work they put in to keep the club running smoothly. Say “thank you” when you pass by them in the hallway or write them a letter to commemorate all of their hard work. Thirdly, thank your principal for allowing Key Club to be a part of the school. Show your appreciation for their support by writing them a card signed by the club, having club officers bring them a basket of goodies as a thank you, or some other sign of gratitude. Another important person you need to thank is your faculty advisor. This faculty member at your school has to balance both their regular, demanding job as a high school teacher as well as working to keep your Key Club running. You can write them a card with signatures from all of your club’s members, send a personal note and ask other members to do the same, drop off goodies on their desk, give them a shoutout for their hard work, or give them an appreciative smile and a genuine “thank you” at some point throughout the day. In addition to thanking your faculty advisor, don’t forget to thank your Kiwanis advisor, who is an important part of the chartering of your club and is the connecting link between your club and sponsoring Kiwanis club. You can thank them in similar ways as you thank a faculty advisor or hold an event, such as an appreciation dinner, to commemorate your sponsoring Kiwanis club, faculty and Kiwanis advisor, principal, and club officers. However you choose to celebrate November 7th, make sure that all of the important pieces of your club are thanked because without them, Key Club would not be possible.

On Wednesday, November 8th, celebrate the impact that Key Club can have with our preferred charities. Key Club International’s preferred charities are UNICEF, March of Dimes, Children’s Miracle Network, and the Thirst Project. If you are unfamiliar with these organizations and their relationship with Key Club International, reference their description under the “Service” tab on the Carolinas Key Club website. Use this Wednesday to advocate for important causes, raise money, and impact change for international charities. You can help by holding a fundraiser, asking members or students at your school to wear ribbons with one of the charities corresponding official color, or hold a service project to help one of the preferred charities. One example of a project you could do would be making slip-free socks for your club’s local Children’s Miracle Network hospital. Wednesday is exciting because there are a variety of ways that your club could participate, depending on your school’s policy, skill sets, and desires. Whether your goal is to spread awareness about these organizations, do a fundraiser, make something for one of the charities, or do a combination of these things, you will be making a difference in a worldwide effort.

On Thursday, November 9th, you have a wonderful opportunity to spread kindness in your home, school, and community. Kindness goes a long way, as even a simple smile can affect a person’s attitude for the day. Boost positivity and morale in your school by doing random acts of kindness. For example, have your members write motivating quotes and phrases and use them to decorate lockers, bathroom mirrors, and classroom doors. You can also ask your members to make a conscious effort to be kind on Thursday, by holding doors, complimenting others, smiling at strangers, eating with someone who is sitting alone at lunch, offering to carry someone’s books to class for them, or some other small, thoughtful action. You’d be surprised how much one small gesture can impact others. You can also promote kindness in your local community. One example would be to paint “Kindness Rocks”, where you paint an inspirational message on a rock and place it in a public place for others to see and enjoy. However your club chooses to celebrate Thursday of Key Club Week, make sure they realize the difference they can make through little actions and push them to make the random acts of kindness into daily choices they make.

Finish your Key Club Week strong! On Friday, November 10th, celebrate your Kiwanis family. There are six branches of the Kiwanis family, which can all be utilized for your final day of Key Club celebration. Reach out to local Kiwanis, Circle K, Builders, K-Kids, and Aktion clubs and plan an event with at least one of these groups to complete a service project. Try to plan a social service project, where people can work and talk at the same time, allowing for the different branches of the Kiwanis family to get closer throughout the duration of the event. You can also take advantage of the opportunity to explain the different organizations sponsored by Kiwanis to members on Friday.

Key Club week is a great way to engage with members, advisors, the student body, community, and other branches of the Kiwanis family. There are so many wonderful things you can do to personalize Key Club Week to the specific wants and needs of your club, and creativity is encouraged. Make sure to use #mycarolinaskey for all of your adventures during Key Club Week. The Carolinas District hopes that you enjoy your Key Club Week and are able to raise enthusiasm about an organization that will be celebrated in 38 countries the week of November 6th-10th.